3 hot technology features for music festivals in 2017

So with all that competition it is clear that managers and promoters have a challenge on their hands to make theirs stand out, unless they are a Glastonbury or a Download.

Festival-goers are getting more discerning and demanding and since they have so much choice over where to spend their money it’s important to give them what they want.

With New Year almost upon us, we thought it was timely to look at some of the technology which can improve the experience of festival fans.

1 Contactless Payment

The days of taking bank notes on the gate or asking attendees to search through their bags and pockets for coins should soon be a thing of the past.

2015 was the first year where people used cash for less than half of all transactions in the UK and that rate will have decreased further this year.

And contactless payments at music festivals were up by more than 30 per cent in 2016.

Festival-goers don’t want the hassle of carrying cash so it’s a great idea to give them the option of using a card or a mobile phone to pay for stuff.

2 Drones

Imagine flying a drone over your festival and shooting video and photographs of the event which can then be posted on social media and the event website.

They are now so easy to operate and increasingly affordable that it makes perfect sense to use them to showcase a live music happening.

There are also now drones on the market which can be used by festival-goers, themselves.

They are attached to the wrist, much like a watch, but can then be flown into the sky to film what’s going on at the festival and to take the ultimate festival selfie.

3 Virtual Reality

Technology has now arrived to provide people with a full festival experience even if they are not present at the event.

How it works is that someone wears a virtual reality (VR) headset which then provides them with a live, 360-degrees music festival playing all around them.

The event is streamed to the device and the subscriber has the option of standing in a particular place or sitting in a specific seat at the event or even being backstage or even live on stage with a band.

Revenue from these VR experiences, alongside traditional ticket sales, has the potential to make a massive difference to the bottom line for event promoters.

Can you suggest any other technological features music festivals should be using in 2017? We would love to get your comments below.